musicians foundation
TRANSCRIPT
Founded in 1914, the Musicians Foundation is the country’s oldest independent nonprofit organization dedicated to providing financial assistance to musicians and their families in times of need, crisis or transition.
Since its inception, the Musicians Foundation has provided nation-wide support to thousands of musicians across all genres, offering compassion, respect and the support necessary for them to weather financial difficulties and personal setbacks with dignity and security. Funds raised through concerts, annual dinners and bequests, as well as generous individual donations have enabled the Musicians Foundation to spend a century giving back to the people who make the music – our shared source of joy, inspiration and incomparable, irreplaceable artistry.
whOArewe?
Musicians are often left on their own, even while people find so much joy in the music they make. It’s an enormous relief to know that there’s a place like the Musicians Foundation where you can go to ask for help.
This is a big, cold world.
BrOOkSkerr
Brooks Kerr was born to play the music of Duke Ellington. A prodigy pianist, Kerr was five years old when he first met the older jazz legend; by his teen years they were touring
together across the country and abroad. John Wilson, jazz critic of The New York Times, described the Julliard-trained Kerr as possessing “an encyclopedic knowledge of Ellington’s music,” a repertory that includes over a thousand compositions, many of them now standards of the Great American Songbook. At the end of Ellington’s life, Kerr sat in for his ailing mentor in concert – chosen steward for this remarkable canon of American music.
kerr has not only upheld the legacy of ellington’s music; he’s also served as a loyal friend to other musicians, always willing to help a fellow artist in need.
Then Brooks kerr needed help himself.
Struck with kidney disease, Kerr found himself unable to perform. Like so many musicians, this artist who had devoted his entire life to bringing pleasure to others was left with no means of financial support while enduring an unexpected medical crisis.
The Musicians Foundation has provided Kerr and his family assistance to pay their bills while he undergoes treatment. As a result, Kerr can focus on what matters most: getting well so that he can return to making the music that is part of our shared and cherished heritage.
Making music for a living means making sacrifices. Many professional musicians endure years of arduous study and hours of dedicated practice. They pay for
lessons and invest in their instruments and their equipment. They spend months on the road, living from one performance to the next. They risk a host of ailments and injuries related to the physical demands of their vocation: from trigger finger to hearing loss, tendinitis to vocal chord nodules. And today, with sweeping changes to the music industry, they are confronted with an increasingly uncertain job market. At the same time, they face issues of illness, aging and unexpected personal setbacks as we all do.
But for most professional musicians, there is no financial safety net available.
MUSICIANSNeeD OUrhelp
The vast majority of musicians do not have a steady employer. There is no automatic workman’s compensation or pension plan or benefits package for the artists who give their musical gifts to the world. When real trouble comes, the inability to afford medical care, maintain permanent housing or secure even the most basic living expenses is too often the case for musicians from every genre.
The Musicians Foundation addresses head on the chronic financial insecurity so prevalent amongst artists who devote their lives to creative expression.
Acknowledging the real cost of a rich musical culture, we take care of the individuals who make the music that ultimately sustains us all.
Suddenly, the music that had always flowed through Bruce's fingers no longer flowed. Bruce's life changed from making music to basic survival. Afterwards when we struggled to keep him alive, it was a great blessing to have the support of the Musicians Foundation. Words cannot express the depth of our gratitude.
– Cynthia Riddle, friend
in a momenT, a sTroke changed everyThing.
in a momenT, a sTroke changed everyThing. Bruce Langhorne, “Mr. Tambourine
Man,” was a man living in the right place at the right time. The place was New York’s Greenwich Village in the 1960’s, where an accomplished session
guitarist could sit in with the most innovative artists of the day. The time was that critical turning point in 20th-century American music when the traditional folk scene first embraced the electric excitement of rock. Langhorne was in the studio all the time, contributing to the evolving sounds of such seminal artists as Bob Dylan, Richie Havens, Gordon Lightfoot and Joan Baez.
Langhorne is no doubt best known for work he did in early 1965 for Dylan’s Bringing it All Back Home album. According to Dylan:
“Bruce…had this gigantic tambourine…It was as big as a wagon-wheel. he was playing, and this vision of him playing this tambourine just stuck in my mind.”
Given the cult status of Mr. Tambourine Man, it is all the more shocking that when Langhorne had to interrupt his career due to a stroke, he was without any financial means. The man who had performed at the 1963 March on Washington as Dr. Martin Luther King made his way to the steps of the Lincoln Memorial was unable to make rent.
The Musicians Foundation is proud to have helped this iconic figure in our nation’s musical history – artist, innovator and muse.
BrUCelANghOrNe
The Musicians Foundation is committed to the singular mission of providing critical and life-changing financial assistance to professionals in the music industry. We don’t incur costs running other programs or services. Helping musicians in need is all that we do, and we do it extremely well.
A MODelOFeFFICIeNCyANDIMpACT
A rigorous selection process
and streamlined administrative
system ensures that every dollar
we raise goes to the people most
in need of our help:
A comprehensive application requires candidates to have worked as professional musicians in the United States for at least five years.
Applicants must submit tax statements demonstrating that their principal income is derived from work as musicians.
An expert Screening Committee reviews all proposed grantees to confirm the validity of each individual application, including review by a physician in cases of medical need, as well as evaluation by a licensed social worker.
Funding is given in the form of direct payment to vendors, such as medical practices, housing rental authorities and insurance companies, to maximize efficiency.
Support includes one-time assistance for periods of acute need, (medical crisis, crime victimization, etc.) as well as ongoing help for long-term costs, including nursing home and hospice care.
The Musicians Foundation helped put the power back into my hands to turn that luck around.
bad luck shouldn’T puT a sTopTo pracTicing your crafT.
Brett Umlauf is a young, dynamic soprano, living and singing in New York City. She is a member of SIREN Baroque, an all-female ensemble performing works by women composers,
as well as new compositions by contemporary artists. A principal singer at Morningside Opera as well, she recently appeared in a newly commissioned work described by Steve Smith of The New York Times as “a brainy, baffling, consistently astounding 100-minute piece.” To follow the bold artistic choices of Brett Umlauf ’s career is to know that contemporary opera is alive and thriving in our country today.
Still, even steady and inspiring employment was not enough to help this Ivy league-educated vocalist through two calamities beyond her control.
First Hurricane Sandy flooded the theater where Umlauf was scheduled for a lengthy show run, cancelling all her performances. Nine months later, a 5-alarm fire in her Harlem apartment forced her to flee with just the clothes on her back. All of her personal belongings were destroyed, including the essential tools of her trade: her keyboard, her music scores, concert gowns and computer.
It takes courage to persevere as an artist in a profession with limited financial stability, all the more when crisis strikes. Support from the Musicians Foundation allowed Umlauf, despite serious setbacks, to continue bringing her art to audiences – long-standing opera lovers, and a whole new generation of listeners passionate about music.
bad luck shouldn’T puT a sTopTo pracTicing your crafT.
BreTT UMlAUF
The Musicians Foundation is proud to partner with other nonprofit organizations and musicians’ unions in order to extend our reach even further into the musical community.
Pooling resources and sharing information and social services with our colleagues in the field allows us to amplify our impact and give more to the musicians we serve.
The Musicians Foundation works in close coordination with the following strategic partners, including:
Actors Fund of America American Federation of Musicians Chapters American Guild of Musical Artists American Guild of Variety Artists Bagby Foundation for the Musical Arts Episcopal Actors Guild Haven Foundation MusiCares Rhythm and Blues Foundation Society of Singers Sussman Trust Sweet Relief Musicians Fund The Jazz Foundation
A Long And distinguished
history
we AreNOT IN ThISAlONe
The Musicians Foundation was incorporated in 1914 by The Bohemians, a New York-based musicians club whose membership has included many of the most
renowned names in the music industry for over 100 years. Forward-thinking and philanthropic, the original Bohemians decided that rather than invest in a permanent clubhouse of their own, they would direct their formidable fund-raising abilities toward creating and endowing an organization “to provide voluntary aid and assistance to professional musicians and their families in case of need.”
The Musicians Foundation is the remarkable result of this initiative, and has gone on to become the nation’s oldest charitable organization working on behalf of musical artists. The relationship between The Bohemians and Musicians Foundation remains strong, with much of Musicians Foundation funding coming by way of legacy gifts from Bohemian supporters.
Music’s brightest stars and supporters have been active with The Bohemians and Musicians Foundation over the last century:
Pablo Casals EnriCo Caruso WaltEr DamrosCh JasCha hEifitzYo-Yo ma Elkan naumbErg Jan PaDErEWski sErgEi ProkofiEff arturo tosCanini sErgEi raChmaninoff arthur rubinstEin gustav sChirmEr alExanDEr sChnEiDEr CharlEs stEinWaY isaaC stErn
A Long And distinguished
history
We couldn’t make our monthly mortgage payment and would have been homeless. The help we got from the Musicians Foundation has been a sheer blessing and we thank God every night for their help.
wiTh all The records, i never saw any royalTies.
Listening to Little Jimmy Scott sing is to be transported – his fragile contralto and idiosyncratic phrasing are steeped in an emotional depth as moving as it is beautiful. Musicians across
generations and genres have named him as their great influence, from Frankie Valli to Sting, Ray Charles to Lou Reed. Billie Holiday claimed he was her favorite vocal artist. Madonna said, “Jimmy Scott is the only singer who makes me cry.”
The emotional pain in Scott’s voice is authentic. He suffered from a rare hormonal disorder – accounting for his distinctively high-pitched vocal range. There were critically acclaimed performances with Lionel Hampton for which Scott received no credit. A breakout record produced by Ray Charles was pulled from the shelves due to contractual disputes. Scott remained largely overlooked and undercompensated throughout his career. And so when crisis hit, he was unprepared.
A fall during a concert left Scott in a wheelchair. Bookings stopped when promoters heard of his infirmity.
“when the gig ain’t there, you still got to pay the rent,” Scott said. “I learned that a long time ago.”
Scott was directed to the Musicians Foundation, where he found the ongoing financial assistance he needed. While his recent death was mourned by music lovers internationally, the Musicians Foundation will be there for his family with continued support throughout this difficult transition.
JIMMySCOTT
TAke CAre OF The peOple whO MAke The MUSIC
there cAn be
no Music without
MusiciAns
Please join us in support of those who give their skills, their artistry and their life experiences so that our world remains full of music. The Musicians Foundation has
provided critical assistance to musicians and their families for one hundred years. With your help, we can ensure that the music keeps playing for years to come.
To make a gift to the Musicians Foundation or to learn more about our activities and events, please contact
B.C. Vermeersch, Executive Director
at 212.239.9137 or visit us at
www.musiciansfoundation.org
there cAn be
no Music without
MusiciAns .